Birthday smiles illuminated by flickering candles on scrumptious cakes, the joy of such moments never dims.

If a candle were lit for every person in the United States becoming a year older in July, the sky would brighten like the month's famous holiday.

Though linked with Independence Day, hot weather and vacations, July also is the month with the most birthdays. August follows not only on the calendar, but as the month with the second highest number of birthdays.

Raymond and Rosalind Vogel of Cape Girardeau are well acquainted with July and August birthdays. Their three grandchildren were born in one or another of those months.

Last week the Vogels helped their granddaughters celebrate. Johna Applestein will be 3 tomorrow and her sister, Cara, will be 5 Saturday.

"We're having a joint birthday party while they're visiting," Rosalind Vogel said last week. The girls and their parents, Marta and Eliot Applestein, reside in Maryland.

While the combined party for the girls -- complete with young guests, pizza, pool fun, clowns and even rabbits for petting -- was the first of its kind for the Vogel family, like most families, they're no strangers to birthday celebrations. "We've had many birthday parties," Rosalind Vogel said, chuckling.

According to the most recent numbers available from the National Center for Health Statistics, the birthday bulge begins in early July and lasts straight through August, when the graph begins to flatten again.

Whether local citizens' birth dates follow similar trends is open to speculation, an informal check of the birth dates recorded at First Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau showed a parallel.

From a list of 1,108 people, 130 have birthdays in July, ranking it as the month with the most birthdays, noted Barb McFarland, a secretary at the local church. Forty-three of those birthdays fell within the first week of the month.

August ranked fourth, with 108 birthdays, McFarland said.

July has been in the top three months for the highest number of births at Southeast Missouri Hospital two of the last three years.

"In 1992, the busiest month was June, followed by September, July and November," said Sally Owen, publications and media coordinator at Southeast Missouri Hospital. "In 1993, the busiest month was June, followed by July and October," she said. Last year, September led in the number of births at the hospital, followed by August.

So far this year, May has been the busiest month followed by June, Owen said. July births during the first week of the month were described as steady.

With all the summer birthdays comes plenty of decision-making. Finding the just-right birthday gift can leave the gift-giver in a quandary.

The American Floral Marketing Council offers this advice: prioritize, plan ahead and personalize.

Planning ahead allows time for the personalization of gifts. Reflection on any special hobbies or interests can spark gift ideas. Does the person want to learn a particular skill? A gift of training, like a scuba-diving course or a ballroom dance class might be just the thing.

Then there's the party and the cake.

It's Jennifer Whittaker's job to help people celebrate. An employee at Bloomin' Balloons, Whittaker dresses in various character costumes and visits birthday parties. She also makes surprise deliveries.

"It's fun, I get lots of smiles," Whittaker said. "I get to make people's day." Children and senior citizens, Whittaker noted, tend to be especially happy to receive character visits, which makes her job all the more fun.

When it comes to birthday cakes, some people order out, while others do it themselves.

Anne Amelunke, who decorates cakes at The Sweet Shop, said flowers still reign as the favorite decor for adult confections. Other favorite themes depict hobbies, interests and occupations, she said.

"As far as children go, they follow the movie trends," she said.

"Most people want chocolate or white, but we do make a lot of other flavors and they're getting more popular all the time," Amelunke said.

Rosalind Vogel made the birthday cake for her granddaughters' celebration, held on the porch and lawn of the Vogels' neighbor, Linda Heitman.

"I always bake the birthday cakes," Vogel said. And grandpa, too, knows what the little ones like. "The girls have already gotten a gift," Rosalind Vogel said the morning of the party. "They got new little bathing suits from grandpa, he gave them to the girls this morning."

GIFT-GIVING TIPS

-- Seize the moment -- buy the perfect gift if spotted, even if the birthday isn't near.

-- Present the gift with style -- wrappings, bows and imaginative packaging add to the fun.

-- Give something truly personalized -- the gift of time. Participating in the celebration makes it more precious.

-- Go the extra mile. Giving a picture frame? Place a special photograph inside. Giving a cookbook? Include a family recipe or a hard-to-get ingredient.

-- Consider being impractical and give a wanted gift instead of a needed one.